Demountable building corner structure



K. H; BURGIN DEMOUNTABLE BUILDING comm STRUCTURE Sept. 20, 1960 FiledApril 14, 1958 4e 25 z I United States Patent DEMOUNTABLE BUILDINGCORNER STRUCTURE Kermit H. Burgin, RR. 1, Whitestown, Ind.

Filed Apr. 14, 1958, Ser. No. 728,358

1 Claim. (Cl. 18988) This invention relates to a wall cornerconstruction in a demountable metal building structure, and reference ismade to my pending application filed July 26, 1954, Serial No. 445,545,on which Patent No. 2,832,445 is to be issued April 29, 1958.

The building wall is made up out of a number of metal panels havinginwardly extending flanges at their vertical marginal edges enteringslots in upstanding posts. A corner return panel is provided having aleg turned from one of the marginal flanges to enter the slot at acorner post. That marginal flange lies across a portion of the cornerpost, and from which flange the panel in general extends at right anglesto that flange along a side of the post to have another inturned flangepresented in a slot of the next adjacent post on the side or end wall.

A primary purpose of the invention is to provide a rigid, simplifiedwall construction for continuing an end wall around from a side wallutilizing the same design of posts on both end and side walls, all in amanner which may be readily assembled and disassembled without any metalor machine working on the job.

A further important object of the invention is to provide means forholding the expansion and contraction of the metal side wall panels to aminimum throughout a considerable range of variations at atmospherictemperatures such as the difference in temperatures from night time totemperatures produced when exposed directly to the rays of sunlight.This. is particularly advisable when the metal may be aluminum as isdesirous for reducing the overall weight of the building structure,although steel may be employed, such as in galvanized or lead-coatedsheets.

These and many other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent to those versed in the art in the following description of oneparticular form of my invention which is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary portion of a side wall in endelevation at the corner of the wall;

Fig. 2 is a view in horizontal section on an enlarged scale on the line22 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in inside elevation and partial section of a wallpanel; and

Fig. 4 is a view in top end perspective of a wall post.

A post generally designated by the numeral is formed to be externallyrectangular in shape. It is provided with a web side 11 from whichextend legs 12 and 13 in parallel, spaced apart relation, Fig. 4, andfrom the ends removed from the web 11 there extend respectively from thelegs 12 and 13 at right angles thereto the planar members 14 and 15separated by their opposing ends by an entryway 16 therebetween. Theopposing end portions of the members 14 and 15 have inwardly extendinglegs 17 and 18 extending therefrom at right angles to be spaced parallelto and from the legs 12 and 13. For reinforcing these legs 17 and 18,there extend at right angles thereto toward the legs 12 and 13 flanges19 and 20 in turn carrying feet 21 and 22 turning therefrom at rightangles to be parallel to and spaced from the insides from the legs 12and 13. The entryway 16 provides in eifect a slot hereinafter termed aslot 16.

These posts 10 are set upright in spaced apart vertical positions and inalignment one with the other along a side wall, having the slot 16turned outwardly toward the outside of the wall.

A plurality of metal panels 23 are formed in like manner to form theouter wall enclosure. Each of these panels 23 consists essentially of asheet of metal, from the vertical edges of which are turned flanges 24and 25 extending entirely along the side edges of the panel in eachinstance. These flanges 24 and 25 are entered in the slots 16 ofadjacent posts 10, these posts 10 being spaced apart so that the flanges24 and 25 will preferably be in engagement along the opposing faces ofthe inturned members 17 and 18 of the posts 10. These sheets of metal 23are relatively thin, and quite flexible.

A plurality of battens 35 are secured laterally to and across the insidefaces of the panels 23. In the present form, each of the battens 35 ishollow and is secured to the panel 23 by any suitable means such as bywelding. Preferably these battens are made out of a good heat conductingmetal such as aluminum. These battens serve a number of purposes, onebeing to radiate heat from the panel 23 so as to prevent unduetemperature rise therein, these battens being on the inner sides of thepanels 23 and out of direct sunlight, being faced toward the innersideof the building.

An additional purpose of the battens 35 is to provide spacers to carry alatch member 26 at each end, pivotally interconnected with the batten 35such as is indicated in Fig. 2 where the latch member 26 is rotatableupon a rivet 28 carried by the batten wall. When the panels 23 arepositioned to have their flanges 24 and 25' entered into the slot 16 ofthe respective, adjacent post 10, the latches 26 are turned around tooverlap the web 11 in each instance as indicated in Fig. 2.

In forming the end wall of the structure, posts 10a are lined up withthe corner post 10b, but are turned ninety degrees therefrom to havetheir slots 16 opening on the end wall side of the structure.

An initial panel 29 is provided on the end wall to extend from thecorner post 10b. This panel 29 carries the flanges 25 and 24 the same asfound in connection with the panel 23. However the flange 24 is made tobe of that width which will permit it to overlap the member 15 of thepost 10b with the panel 29 in contact with the side leg 13, and the edgeportion of the flange 24 removed from the panel 29 continuing into a leg30 which normally bears in close proximity with the face of the member18. In other words this end portion of the panel 29 hooks around thepost 10b, lying along the end side thereof, leg 13, and has the flangeportion 30 entering the groove 16.

The panel 29 has the flange 25 entered into the slot 16 of the post 10a,Fig. 2. To install the panel 29, the panel should be brought up to thecorner post 10b to enter the leg portion 30 in the slot 16 therein, andthen the flange 25 brought around into the post 10a slot 16. The insideface of the panel 29 carries the battens 35 as above described, and inturn carries the latch members 26, one of them engaging over the sideleg 12 of the post 10b and the other engaging over the web 11 of thepost 10a. From the post 10a on across the end wall, panels 23 as abovedescribed are employed While two of the purposes of the battens 35 havebeen enumerated above, these battens 35 further serve the purpose ofconfining the lateral expansion and contraction of the panels 23 and 29rather than permitting those panels to buckle between adjacent posts andthereby set up an undesirable noise. These battens 35 permit the panels23 and 29 to expand particularly by their end portions, the battens 35preferably being made out of the same metal and of the same thickness asthat of the panel areas proper, so that the end flanges may travelsomewhat in the slot 16, the slot 16 being .sufliciently Wide toreceivetherein the flanges of adjacent panels with a clearancetherebetween. This clearance ofiers no undesirable effect since theposts are hollow and completely closed oil from the innerside of thewalls, and any moisture entering therein may drain out from the lowerends of the posts.

While I have herein described rmyginventionzin the one particular form,it is obvious that structural changes may be employed without departingfrom the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not desire to belimited to that precise form beyond the limitations which may be imposedby the following claim.

Iolaim:

A wall corner construction between side and end walls, one normal to theother, comprising a vertically disposed post having a pair of adjacentwaH sides normal to each other and having a single slot entering but oneof said sides ;and,extending vertically thereof; a wall panel hav- 5 aing an end portionlying against said slot side of the post; a flangeextending substantially normally from said end portion and entering saidslot; a latch member secured to said panel and engaging over a back sideof the post opposite to said slot side and retaining the flange Withinsaid slot; a second wall panel normally disposed to the first wall paneland having an end portion lying against the other of said post sides andextending therefrom; a first flange extending at right angles from saidsecond panel end portion overland against said post slot side to saidslot; a second flange extending at right angles from the first flangeand entering said slot; and a second latch member secured to said secondpanel abutting said back side and extending around onto a post sideopposite from said second panel end portion; said second latch memberrestraining said second panel against shifting horizontally along saidpost other side and also restraining the second panel from lateralseparation from the post.

Pilkington Feb. 25, 1919 Burgin Apr. 29, 1958

